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Musical Entertainments – Imported Artists and Local Talent

Color poster of a cabaret of Petit Metis. The poster shows two characters dancing under a yellow umbrella.The character on the left, a man, is wearing a navy blue jacket, a sky blue high hat and red and blue railed pants. The character on the right, wears a sky blue dress and a red cape tied at the neck with a white ribbon. He wears a black hat with a wide edge and long white gloves. The two figures are holding a sign that reads Minstrel Show Town Hall Friday Aug 16 Little Metis. They are also holding three coloured ribbons.

Poster

Minstral Show Town Hall, Little Metis

L.S.M

Heritage Lower St. Lawrence Collection

 

The tradition of musical entertainments in Metis stretches back to the 1880s. Concerts were held in churches and hotels. Some featured local talent. On occasion, musicians and composers summering in Metis were cajoled into performing. When Lord Porchester, the titled son of the Earl of Carnarvon, was in Metis on a fishing holiday, he joined in the fun offering a song during a concert in Astle’s Hotel in 1886.

Period newspapers provide us with hints of what the audiences heard. The articles sometimes even list the names of all those present. The goal of the musical evenings was not just good entertainment. Concerts were usually held to raise money for churches or charities. An 1888 concert in the Seaside House raised $55 for new pews for the Presbyterian Church. An 1896 event at the recently completed Town Hall gave the proceeds to renovating the parsonage in Little Metis.

This tradition of entertaining took a new form when an annual talent show took the stage. The Cabaret is an event where local youth and a few courageous adults present amateur theatrics and musical numbers for the benefit of an accepting public. The Cabaret continues to this day, the descendant of a tradition of entertainment that stretches back to the 19th century. No surprise, the funds raised go to support a good cause – in this case, the Cascade Golf and Tennis Club.